Georgia teacher accused of having sex with seven students

Amy Ellsworth stands during her sentencing in the courtroom of Judge Michael Warren. Photo taken on Thursday, April 15, 2010, in Pontiac, Mich. (The Oakland Press/Jose Juarez)

A teacher of freshmen students at a Georgia high school has been arrested and charged with sexual assault, accused of having sex with as many as seven students, several media outlets have reported.

Such stories have become fairly common as laws have changed to criminalize sex with younger people who have reached the age of consent yet but have a teacher-student, coach-player or boss-employee relationship. For instance, in Michigan, as with Georgia, the age of consent is 16, but it is now illegalf for people to have sex with those younger than 18 if they are a teacher, boss, coach or someone with an authority position over that teenager.

As with Michigan, the teacher-student relationship criminalizes the sex with students who are 16 or older. The relationships reportedly, in at least some cases, lasted more than a year. Wilson's arrest came after the school board received a tip about the alleged relationships, prompting an investigation. A school official escorted the teacher to state investigators with the Georgia Bureau of Investigations, giving her a letter informing her of the paid suspension.